Tuesday, November 26, 2013

Apple Screen Supplier Accused Of Worker Abuse

Reports are surfacing regarding the alleged abuse of worker’s
rights in yet another Chinese factory that supplies companies like Apple,
Samsung, and HTC with parts for their smartphones. This time the report focuses
on Biel Crystal Manufactory, a company that supplies screens for the iPhone to
Apple.

Undercover
Investigation

According to a report released by the Students Scholars
Against Corporate Misbehaviour, also known as SACOM, employees must work for
all but one day each month. Each workday is allegedly eleven hours long, which
equals three hours of required overtime daily.

The report is built from research that was carried out
through 60 off-site interviews with employees. SACOM also launched an undercover
investigation into the factories owned by Biel Crystal Manufactory. Biel is one
of the largest glass producers in the mobile industry, and reportedly accounts
for 60 percent of the glass used by Apple in its products. Samsung receives 20
percent of its glass from the supplier, and other noted customers are HTC,
Nokia, and Lenovo.

Worker Speaks Out

One worker interviewed from the quality control area of the
company gave the following statement to SACOM:

"Biel has a lot of orders from Apple and Samsung.
There's no such thing as peak or non-peak seasons in the factory. Almost every
month is a peak season, and we just work and work. We have to work three hours
overtime every day from Mondays to Fridays, and we work another two full days
(meaning 11 hours per day) on Saturdays and Sundays. There is no break at all
until we shift duty at the end of each month."

Safety Is Disregarded

SACOM, which is based in Hong Kong, also claims that Biel is
not meeting safety requirements set by the Chinese government. Many of the
workers who are injured in the factories are allegedly denied compensation for
their injuries. The report also claims that employees have been fined for not
meeting production quotas or for falling asleep on the job. Other fines have
been levied if a worker breaks glass.

SACOM says the employees are forced to sign a blank
contract, which is then required to be returned to the company when the worker
decides to quit. This eliminates the ties between the employee and the
employer, protecting Biel from lawsuits levied in the future.

Suicide is another issue noted in the report, with one
factory in Guangdong reporting five workers having killed themselves in the
last three years alone.

"We insist that our suppliers provide safe working
conditions, treat workers with dignity and respect, and use environmentally
responsible manufacturing processes wherever Apple products are made. Every
year, Apple inspects more factories, going deeper into the supply chain and
raising the bar for our suppliers. In 2012, we conducted 393 audits at supplier
facilities around the world."